Rev. Ryan's Weekly Reflection

Our final Sunday in the Season of Epiphany was an en-lightened one! Our verse of the week, to carry in our hearts, is Jesus declaring that he is indeed the Light of the World (John 8:12). And then we spent time in another "greatest hits" story from the gospel of John. .  . the story of the "newly sighted man" who becomes an energetic, enthusiastic, and shall we say, joy-full, laughing disciple as well.

I encouraged us to practice an embodied spiritual practice this week -- whenever you are needing a bit of a refreshing moment. . . rub your eyes. . . and as you are opening your eyes, stand alongside the newly sighted man and say a prayer like: "Oh Lord, open the eyes of my heart, to fresh vision, insights and inspirations!"

And. . . during my closing words on Sunday, I shared a prayer from the black, activist, social-justice inclined preacher, Howard Thurman. His reflection piece entitled "The Work of Christmas" is included in today's email or you can read the reading "here." May we, at Altadore Church, continue to be a people who "bring peace. . . and make music in our hearts."

Rev. Ryan's Weekly Reflection

Table Church was fun and full of good and earnest conversation this past Sunday (Feb. 8). Thanks to all who participated as we learned about the story of God and how to read our Bibles with wisdom and insight. I hope that we might continue to reflect on:

--Reading the Bible in 5 "Acts": Creation, Rebellion, the P.O.G. (people of God, Israel), Jesus, the N.P.O.G. (new people of God)
--How the Bible is God's story of Love
--How the Bible is a story of goodness, justice, mercy and compassion
--The repeating theme in the "Jesus Story Book Bible," where Sally Lloyd Jones reminds us that "God rescues us, no matter what. . . because of God's Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love."
--How God is always forming and calling to Godself a people! Us! And inviting us to grow, mature, bear the fruit of the Spirit and TO BE A BLESSING TO ALL THE NATIONS! 

**If you'd like to read Eugene Peterson's explanation about the Bible in 5 Acts, the PDF is attached at the following button.

**And I shared a song called "Sweeter Word" by Nick Chambers, you can watch and listen to the Lyric Video here:

Rev. Ryan's Weekly Reflection

This past Sunday (Epiphany 4) we spent time in another one of the "greatest hits" stories of the gospel of John. We talked of how the unnamed, woman at the well, of John chapter 4 was the first and most energetic evangelist of the gospel of John! She encountered the "boundary and barrier breaking" Jesus and her life was never the same. She ran back to her city of 3500 people and told the good news of Jesus and the whole city listened and was enthralled by her message. And so I invited us to ponder our vocation as evangelists.

I encouraged us to ponder anew our movements and postures as evangelists. If this unnamed, marginalized, non-spectacular woman could be Jesus' first evangelist, then there is hope and optimism for ALL of us. 

Three words to keep on pondering as your week unfolds:

NOTICE: What's so interesting about Jesus?

SHARE: Take your Jesus "notice" and share it with someone. . . how might your Jesus story find a place in their story?

INVITE: As this woman in John 4 did. . . we can invite people to "Come and See!" An invitation. . . not an obligation or order.

Who might be placed in your path this week. . . who may have an inclination or a curiosity to "Come and See" and learn more about this intriguing Jesus character who we follow and learn from? Don't force it! Simply pay attention to how God and the Spirit may be moving in our lives this week.

PS: Here are  interesting comments we shared together on Sunday, when I asked the question: "What's so fascinating and intriguing about Jesus?"

--his openness
--his willingness to break rules and boundaries, to forego tradition
--no judgement, no pressure!
--his humility
--his desire to meet us, one to one.  . with no shame, no judgment
--the intimacy and care of Jesus
--Jesus knows us. . . and longs to be with us and near us!

Rev. Ryan's Weekly Reflection

We continue in the 42-day season of Epiphany and it was another great day as we gathered in the "house of the Lord" this past Sunday (Jan. 18).

We re-heard that familiar story of Jesus turning the water into wine. I reminded us to ponder the reality that Jesus was only 30 years old when he performed his first miracle, quite a youngster when you think of it in the big picture of our life journeys (funny note to ponder: what were you doing with your life when you were 30?) It was also fun to think about Jesus' relationship with his mother. . . I feel like it was thoughtful and endearing . . . and in the gospel of John, it's Jesus' mother who jumpstarts his public ministry! Wow!

And the closing reflection and questions I encouraged us to press into this week, is related to the attached poem/prayer from Jan Richardson.

Richardson invites us to keep ourselves open to "surprising gifts". . . she describes them as the “sharp, sweet wine that God is conniving to bring.”

She also invites us to pay attention to:

i) the wonders at hand (the beauty and graces of the present moment)

ii) be a part of the miracles yet to come (what might it look like for us to participate in or facilitate a miracle of goodness and generosity in the world this week?)

iii) the unexpected delights we might encounter along the way (resonates with Psalm 37 -- "delight yourself in the Lord and God will give you the desires of your heart).

May the God of Epiphany continue to reveal, encourage and delight this week!

Rev. Ryan's Reflection of the Week

This past Sunday (Jan. 4) we "fused" together the Christian Calendar seasons of Christmas and Epiphany. It was the 11th day of Christmas and we sought to remember 11 Lords a Leaping (the worship was lively!) and we also turned our hearts and attention to the season of Epiphany. Epiphany is the Christian Calendar Season (this year it's 42 days) where we worship and watch... and see/sense what God might be revealing anew to us in our journey of following Jesus.

On Sunday, I encouraged us to reflect on the life of Nathanael (John 1:47) and specifically Nathanael's "epiphany" when he declares: "RABBI, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" I encouraged us to reflect on which of the 3 images resonates with you and your journey of following Jesus. ...are you enjoying Jesus as: i) teacher/mentor? ii) the humble son who has been born in a manger and yet is the great "reveal" of God? iii) or are you enjoying the presence of a God who reigns and rules, in the midst of a world that often feels like it's out of control or without hope.  May one... or all 3 of those images encourage our hearts this week!

Plus...  we also shared in Sarah Bessey's prayer "Open the Door: A Prayer for Welcoming a New Year." Download the prayer below or you can request a copy from the church office.

pastor@altadorechurch.com

Rev. Ryan's Reflection of the Week for Christmas

REV. RYAN'S WEEKLY REFLECTIONS

--Just one more sleep till Christmas and if you were in Church this past Sunday (Advent 4) then you joined in on the "Prayer for Love" by Kate Bowler. We've also attached it in today's newsletter. One of my favourite phrases from this prayer that I'm carrying this week is as follows:

"God, we are waiting for love, 
not the simple kind or the sweep-you-off-your-feet
       kind,
but the absurd kind.      

The kind wrapped in rags,
resting in a bucket of animal feed.
Love enough to save us all."

 --And. . . this past Sunday, we used the First Nations Version of the Bible as our Bible Translation. The FNV is an Indigenous language translation that has been a refreshing way for me to read my Bible. . . it's inspiring and thought-provoking. . . just like Eugene Peterson's "The Message" translation that was released 30 years ago. I would encourage you to consider buying a FNV (New Testament) or you can find it online at www.bible.com.

--One more Advent reading that can carry us into the season of Christmas (remember, the season of Christmas has 12 days to celebrate the arrival of Christ!).

This simple poem has emboldened my heart and inspired me for several years in my "journey to Christmas":

"Break forth, O beauteous heav'nly light,
And usher in the morning:
Ye shepherds, shrink not with affright,
But hear the angel's warning.
This child, this little helpless boy,
Shall be our confidence and joy.
The powers of hell o'erthrowing,
At last our peace bestowing."
(Johann Rist, Seventeenth century)

pastor@altadorechurch.com

Rev. Ryan's Reflection of the Week

What a delightful sunday of worship and feasting we enjoyed together on Advent 3!

And now we are reflecting on the theme of JOY this week. . . here are some thoughts to encourage us and inspire us on the way.

--The Prayer of Hope (Yes. . .  And) that we prayed together on Sunday is such a gritty, realistic and yet "percolating with joy" kind of prayer. See the prayer attached in this newsletter. The closing stanza is good for us to reflect on . .  in the wake of my exhortation for us to be "joy-restorers" in those places that we are working or socializing in this week.

"Make me capable of great joy,
great love,
great risk,
great fear,
as you expand my heart. . . "

What I am reminded of with this prayer is that it is God who leads and empowers us. . we are not left to do "joy-restoring" work in our own strength. May the joy of the Lord be our strength.

 --And I offer this "point to ponder" on the legend of dear St. Nick. I'm reflecting on this thoughtful quote about the "real presence" of Santa Claus and how seeing many Santa Claus appearances in the days ahead, may point us to the worship of our Lord. . . read the quote below from Gertrud Mueller Nelson:

 "I don’t want to get rid of Santa Claus. But I think that we need to give our Santa Claus, who has evolved out of a very ancient Saint Nicholas, a closer examination. A myth is an exceptionally difficult thing to kill, for it continues to be devastatingly revealing even when we have tampered with it and changed its form by our rationalizations or our moralistic applications.  A figure who can endure with such tenacity ever since the fourth century, and with a stunning continuity of legends and similarity of iconographic representations in so many countries, has got to be real. He may well be the most popular saint the world has ever known, whether he was ever real in history or not. His legends cannot be brushed aside as 'mere' myths because they live on into the present and refuse to die while stories in history, on the other hand, deal with what is dead and passed. Santa Claus is the father figure we all dream about and share in our collective unconscious. He is a 'type' of God the father, primal and powerful and, yes, real."

Rev. Ryan's Reflection of the Week

This week we're seeking to live out the PEACE of Advent. . . 

 i) This past Sunday's worship service for Advent 2 was certainly an encouraging one! I’m so grateful for all who led and participated to make the day a blessed one. 

We journeyed with Ezekiel in the fascinating story of the Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37. What a challenging life that Ezekiel endured as he tried to encourage the people of God in their time of Exile. But the Good News is that again. . . when we think the people of God have gone too far and have dislocated themselves beyond the kindness and mercy of God. . . God promises to show up! Our "verse of the week" to carry in our hearts is an encouraging one if you are feeling like a weary pilgrim on the journey in these advent days:

“I will breathe MY life into you and you shall live,
and I will place you on your own soil;
then you shall know that I,
the LORD, have spoken and will act.” (Ezekiel 37:14)

 ii) If you'd like to journey along with the Kate Bowler Advent Devotional that we are recommending this year, it's not too late to start. See the info in previous sections of today's Newsletter. Our Kate Bowler Advent "prayer of the week" alongside the theme of Peace. . . goes like so:

"Spirit of the Living God. . . BLESSED ARE WE. . . 
remembering that you hold all things together.
You are the invisible scaffolding that supports us,
The canopy of love that covers us in the present,
The stable pillars, sunk deep in our past,
And the sparrow that flies confidently toward the future. . .
Bearing for us the PEACE we could never have attained for ourselves."

iii) And I'm challenged by this Martin Luther King quote:

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” 
The peace that God provides for us, is not a blessing that we are keep for ourselves. . . but a peace that we are encouraged to share in ways that provide peace, justice and mercy for all. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers. 

Rev. Ryan's Reflection of the Week

This past Sunday (Nov. 30) we entered into the Christian New Year and the Season of Advent. 

 Here's some points to ponder as we enter a new week:

--I encouraged us to consider living our lives by the pattern of the Christian Year Calendar. 

As a people who live by an "alternative way" as we follow God's way, living our lives by the Christian Calendar is a practical way to live differently through the different seasons of the calendar. Each year, we get to "re-set" our lives. . . it begins in Advent as we await the "arrival" of Jesus anew in our lives, then we follow Jesus through the seasons of Christmas, Epiphany and Lent. We rise anew with Christ in the Spring alongside the seasons of Easter and Pentecost. And then in the last half of the year we pursue the slow, long and steady growth through the season called "ordinary time."  If you'd like to learn more about living your life alongside the Christian Calendar, I would suggest this website link: 

http://www.missioncincinnati.org/blog/2020/1/20/living-into-the-christian-calendar 

 --The first Sunday of Advent is HOPE Sunday We sang songs of hope and anticipation and we heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as they said "NO Way!" to the oppressive demands of the King Nebuchadnezzar . . . and emerged "un-singed" from the fiery furnace. I invited us to stand alongside Shad, Mesh and Abed. . . as we seek to stay HOPE-full in the midst of the "fiery" fears that might surround us in these days. We also learned of the phrase "gritty hope" from our Kate Bowler reading.

*And we closed with a prayer for HOPE. . . see the prayer attached to this newsletter.

May HOPE abound in our lives this week. . . as we pray for our living God to lead the way into a new year and new advent season.

Rev. Ryan's Reflection of the Week

What a joy to "hang the greenery" and re-learn of all the Christian messages that are revealed in our decorations that adorn our sanctuary, homes and city! Thanks to all you pitched in an made our "Hanging of the Greens Service" a festive and fun one. It was a great reflection of our community of faith here at Altadore. . . authentic, easy-going, heart-felt, humorous and dearly devoted.

 A couple of points to ponder as we enter into the Season of Advent this Sunday, November 30.

-- For those of us who pay attention to the Christian Calendar. . . it's our HAPPY CHRISTIAN NEW YEAR! Over the past 2 weeks you may have seen (in the church building) the "Christian Calendar" circle and the accompanying description document called "How We Journey with the Liturgical Calendar" (see both of them attached to this newsletter).  At the heart of the Christian Calendar is an invitation to shape our year and our lives with the intentionality and the insights of the Christian Year. . . a yearly cycle of learning and living out the stories of Jesus. . . and learning and living out the stories of the People of God.  I hope you might consider this way of ordering our lives of faith in a way that many other Christians around the world share in. . . we are not alone in this journey of faith!

-- One of my favourite authors/preachers, William Willimon, offers the following comments on Advent: 

". . . Outside, the days grow shorter and another weary year edges toward its close. “Welcome 2026!” we’ll soon say, 
as if the turn of a number alone could bring something new. One year comes, another goes. Not much changes. The same old frustrations, the same old us.

But then the church gives us Advent—a season that keeps time differently. 
Four weeks to pause, to take stock, and to let God reset our understanding of what time really means. 
Advent doesn’t begin with our resolutions or our determination. It begins with God’s decision to show up, to shake things up, to take time for us.

If there is to be a fresh start, it won’t come from our own effort. 
It will come as a gift. We need a God who refuses to stay distant --
a God who steps into our world and does something new among us.

Good news: that is exactly the God we have. 
Advent announces that the Creator of heaven and earth has turned toward us in Jesus Christ -- God stooping low, showing up where we least expect, and right on time."

Rev. Ryan's Reflection of the Week

REV. RYAN'S WEEKLY REFLECTION

Last Sunday we reflected on a passage from Ephesians 4. . . with the sermon title "Grow Us Up!"

I reminded us that all of Paul's Letters are to be read as Love Letters. Paul loved the churches that he journeyed with. . . and 2000 years later, we are to read his letters as letters of love VS letters of shame or letters of the "wagging finger."

 And we learned of the 5 gifts of the Spirit in Ephesians 4:

• Apostles (leaders)

• Prophets (encouragers)

• Evangelists (good news proclaimers)

• Pastors (accompaniers)

• Teachers (mentors)

 And each of us may feel called to 1 of those 5 gifts this week. . . so live into it and be a blessing because you are all gifted children of God. . . .empowered and inspired to share your gifts.

 I also encouraged us to "speak truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). . . how's that going for us this week?

 It's a balanced journey. . . speaking truth, but offering it with a spirit of love. . . and being agents of love to our friends, families and neighbours. . . while also offering words of truth and compassion. 

 God hear our prayers. . . as we love the world this week. . . and offer our gifts to make our church, and our world, a better, kinder place.

 Peace be with you!

Rev. Ryan’s Reflection of the Week

Rev. Ryan’s Reflection of the Week:

Greetings and grace to the saints at Altadore Church!
Thanks for the warm welcome during my first Sunday as Interim Pastor last Sunday.
In my message, I encouraged us to consider the journey of being "Baptist-y Baptists":
A community of faith that recognizes the unique distinctives of being baptist + following Jesus for the good of the world! 
To view the Baptist brochure that I shared, you'll find it attached in this email.
And. . . our "verse of the week" that I encouraged us to reflect on was Matthew 11:29. I encouraged us to imagine Jesus, smiling at us, encouraging us, and saying:
"Learn from me. . . for I am gentle and humble in heart. . . and you will find rest for your souls."
May the joy of the Lord be your strength as we journey towards Sunday.
--Ryan